Personal Information
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Given name: Simon









Surname: Schultz









Email: simon.schultz@hfbk-hamburg.de









I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'.: Yes









I agree to the terms of service.: Yes













Your contribution
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Title: Hammerschlag – Artistic practice as Queer Local History Research









Format: Poster presentation (6)









Main language: English









Abstract:
In this poster presentation I want to present the methodology and state of research of my artistic-scientific PhD project, I am pursuing at HFBK Hamburg since 2024. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, queer resistance against repression in Hamburg was forming collectively. One example is the first pride parade 1980, that was organized by a small collective using the infrastructure of the student and artist led gay liberation movement. Indeed, the demonstration revealed the police's will to document and single out individuals by taking photographs for unofficial registers. I order to end this surveillance of queer bodies in public spaces, an campaign was started to make this illegal practice public and to influence public opinion – again as a collective effort.
Researching this incident I found it very difficult to rely on official and hegemonic archives, as they mostly do not collect neither evidence of illegal police practices, nor self-representations of the subjects of police investigations. With the aim in mind to re-tell the story of queer resistance it is necessary to activate, build, and manifest counter archives.
My PhD project aims to fill the gaps in the official state archives by activating private memories of time witnesses and survivors, using the means of artistic production like re-enactment of a historic incident of self empowerment during an installation at Kampnagel Hamburg theatre space in April 2026, and an ongoing oral history workshops at the annual Queer History Month Hamburg.











Image: https://www.sar2026.ie/system/files/webform/submit_contribution/305/homosexuelle_bespitzelt_fotoreihe.jpg









Short biographies of the presenter(s):
- Simon Schultz studied art history and cultural studies at the Universities of Leipzig, Harvard, and Hildesheim, with a focus on queer self-representation in moving images. His artistic-scientific PhD project at art university HFBK Hamburg deals with a case studie of a historic self-liberation of queer people in Hamburg from ongoing police surveillance in 1980. Part of his research is the production of the performative installation "Hammerschlag" at Kampnagel theater in April 2026. He lives and works in Hamburg.










Previous presentations or iterations of the research:
2024 Zeitzeugen Festival Bochum, Germany
2025 EKA Tallin, Estonia
2025 YCAM Yamaguchi, Japan
2025 para-educational research seminar Hamburg, Germany
2025 Suttner University St. Pölten, Austria
2026 Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Springe, Germany














Requirements
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Additional information:
Poster Presentation










Spatial and technical requirements :
poster presentation










Potential risks or ethical concerns:
none










Create a user account for SAR 2026: Yes









Create new user: Simon Schultz